Gothamist: J.K. Rowling Says Lawsuit is Causing Writer's Block

ihateallbrokers

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:10:39 -0500

BITCH ia WORTH A BILLION BUCKS? why, theres that many loser nerds who read her books??? damm let the guy write a whole HP book, you'll be fine lady!!!

The Edge

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:30:11 -0500

Read the first collected volume of DC/Vertigo's "The Books of Magic" by Neil Gaiman. Then tell me HP wasn't (blatantly) ripped off of something else. Even if Gaiman himself won't publicly say it.

angry_pickle

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 01:57:56 -0500

The fact that she's suing someone for "ripping her off" when she has 4,000 pages of stuff ripping other more talented fantasy writers off is sickening. And who are these supposedly "more talented fantasy writers" that you speak of that she allegedly ripped off? Give me a break. There is a difference between being influenced by books and wholesale ripping off from books. Scientists have proved that if you are over 13 and are on a skateboard or have read "Harry Potter", or both, you are most likely a real douchebag. I'm guessing you've never skateboarded and never read anything except Penthouse.

Barbj8

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:07:58 -0500

Ahhh, Muffin :>( She's really crying because she looks like shit in that picture.

zpk

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:17:52 -0500

I read this book called Harry Potter. There was a character in it named Harry Potter. Oh no! I've infringed on her copyright!

bklynd

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:14:23 -0500

My favorite detail, from the NYTimes: "She said she had sat down at her dining room table with her 14-year-old daughter and typed up a list of “pilfering” and errors..." Mmm hm, sounds like some quality legal research went into this lawsuit.

Jen S

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:09:48 -0500

From what I've read about the case, the dude's book simply lists the characters and places from the books, without any embellishment. A companion reader will offer insight, as well as its own research. And if he hadn't felt an ounce of guilt about publishing this book, he wouldn't have "insisted that RDR Books include a clause in his contract that the publisher would defend and pay any damages that might result from claims against him." http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/books/04/14/rowling.trial.ap/index.html

babyhitler

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:01:00 -0500

maybe she'll make copernicus copywright and the leaky litigation next. I hate all her books. I can't believe someone made ten billion dollars on made up words.

Fritzdecat

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:49:20 -0500

I had to check if I was reading Th Onion or Gothamist on this one...

wowthatsucks

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:13:39 -0500

i'd hit it. that'll really make her cry.

Spiritof76

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:57:12 -0500

Want to avoid all this stress, heartache and writer's block? Walk away. Just walk away. Wash your hands of it and let them do what they will. If it's half as shoddy as she says it is, the fans will shun it in droves. It's not as if she needs any more money.

PBRK

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:57:07 -0500

Maybe some pics of Radcliffe's full frontal will get her juices flowing.

Nunyah Bidnit

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:19:58 -0500

Is this something that anyone cares about? Really?

Politburo

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:15:46 -0500

"Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling testified that her lawsuit to stop the publication of an unauthorized “Harry Potter Lexicon” has caused her such stress and heartache..." Is she writing and researching all the briefs herself? What a fucking joke.

Phil McCracken 222

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:51:01 -0500

Scientists have proved that if you are over 13 and are on a skateboard or have read "Harry Potter", or both, you are most likely a real douchebag.

Derekasaurus

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:36:01 -0500

I have mixed feelings about this. Companion guides are nothing new, but I can see how it's unfair for someone to profit from repackaging or summarizing someone else's work. Mind you I don't have much sympathy for anyone worth $1 billion, but if she loses it could set a precedent that will penalize far less financially successful authors by giving them no recourse against similar derivative works. I think the author should have some authority over derivative works that are based strongly on the original.

Reality Czech

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:15:19 -0500

I thought the Harry Potter crap was finished? Why does she need to write? I predict she's losing this one. Sorry, but you can't let a website continue with your knowledge for years and then object once they want to print a companion guide.

TKaisen

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:09:19 -0500

Writer's block being caused by the fact that she's a one-trick pony and she knows it. Granted, it was a really good trick, but do yourself a favor and retire on top. The fact that she's suing someone for "ripping her off" when she has 4,000 pages of stuff ripping other more talented fantasy writers off is sickening.

AHT

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:05:55 -0500

Well, writer's block won't be a problem for Steve Vanderark, given that the lexicon is some 90% directly taken from Rowling's own words, mostly unsourced. If I'd tried that in college I would have been expelled.

zpk

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:02:21 -0500

Jen S: This "dude" has a pretty good case. Companion guides are well established as legal, and there have been hundreds, if not thousands of articles on Harry Potter published over the last ten years that have covered similar material.

Dave Hogarty

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:49:20 -0500

You know what else causes writer's block? A ten-figure bank account.

Jen S

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:46:55 -0500

Yeah well, she earned it, and this dude knows what he's attepting is wrong.

Ph

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:36:51 -0500

Go console yourself with the billion plus you've made in the last 10 years. Cry more.